If you have followed my writings here and in print, you probably know that I like small cameras. I am tired of carrying big cameras with their associated big lenses. And with all of the flurry of new or possible TSA regulations, being able to travel compactly is likely to become increasingly important.
Last fall, I noted Canon’s announcement of the G11. I thought it sounded like it had a lot of potential. After thinking it over, and thinking about the TSA, I decided to buy one. I am very pleased that I did, although I have only just started playing with it. Now for my Canon Powershot G11 review:
This is no “point-and-shoot” camera. I am not sure why some photographers call all small cameras point-and-shoots. A point-and-shoot is a camera that has very few controls and can literally only be used to point-and-shoot. The G11 is no more of a point-and-shoot than a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III shot all on automatic.
The G11 has a full set of controls from manual focus to all standard exposure modes, including manual, RAW, and more. I really like the way many controls are laid out (similar to the G9 and G10) in an “old-fashioned” way that uses dials instead of buttons and LCDs.
I was not real fond of the G9 or the G10 for several reasons:
First, I was really disappointed when Canon removed the swivel LCD so that the camera only had a fixed LCD. The swivel LCD is back with the G11 - that is such a great feature for a camera like this. You can put the camera up, down, point it sideways, etc., and still see what the lens is seeing with that tilted LCD.
Second, I think Canon bought into the megapixel race to the detriment of image quality. The G10 had this mushy look to its images due to overprocessing of the image files because of the high noise that came from too many megapixels in a small sensor (I have no doubt that we will see quality megapixels in small sensors in the future, but this was not the case for the G10).
I am quite impressed with the image quality of the G11. Canon actually went “backwards” in megapixels to 10 megapixels, but took a jump forward in image quality. At the ISO setting of 100, images are outstanding with little evidence of noise. Colors and tonalities look excellent, and the little lens on this camera continues the image quality that Canon is known for.
This is a very capable little camera that is absolutely capable of professional work (and I will use it for that, too). I really like the IS (image stabilization) and f/2.8 lens on the camera which increases its usefulness for high portability.
More notes: Outdoor Photographer magazine's editor at large, Rob Sheppard, teaches Successful Publication Photography and Creating Storytelling Photos at the BetterPhoto.com digital school of photography.
Hi
i have just bought one of these amazing cameras, it will take time to find out all the features, pleased to see from your comments i made a good choice, also finding draging around large camera bags is getting beyond me.
Posted by: Di Wayne | January 12, 2010 at 11:27 AM